Football training harness

ABSTRACT

A football training harness in which detachable rigid connections adjustable in length extend from the shoulder pads to the rear of the football helmet to prevent hyperflexion and the bending of the head of the player forwardly during blocking and tackling. The connection includes rings secured to the helmet and shoulder pads and swivel snap hooks connected to the shoulder pad rings by means of a wire so as to be adjustable in length, with the snap hooks snaping into the rings fastened to the helmet.

O United States Patent 1151 3,671,974 Sims 1451 June 27, 1972 FOOTBALL TRAINING HARNESS Primww Examiner-Jordan n in Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich [72] Inventor: :Ton $212350. Box 636, Throckmor- An0mey victor J. Evans and on, ex.

[22] Filed: Sept. 4, 1970 211 App]. No.: 69,788 1 ABSTRACT A football training harness in which detachable rigid connec- [52] (1.8. CI. ..2/3 R adjustable in length extend fmm the should" P to the 511 lm. Cl. ..A42b fwba helmet W hyperflexim and sa Field of Search ..2/2 3 R; 128/75 84 c bending head the fmwardly during and tackling. The connection includes rings secured to the [56] References Cited helmet and shoulder pads and swivel snap hooks connected to the shoulder pad rings by means of a wire so as to be adjusta- UNITED STATES PATENTS ble in length, with the snap hooks snaping into the rings h l t. 1,373,446 4/1921 Pierce ..2/3 R fastened the 6 me 3,134,106 5/1964 Shaffer et al .212

OTHER PUBLICATIONS 1 Claim, 3 Drawing Figures Joseph Buegeleisen Co., The History of Safety Helmet Research, March 1961.

FOOTBALL TRAINING HARNESS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a training harness for football players which prevents hyperflexion or the bending of the head forwardly during blocking and tackling. I

1' SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION tached drawings.

- BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1; is arear elevation of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary transverse cross-section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures the reference numeral indicates generally a football players training harness constructed in accordance with the invention.

The football training harness 10 is adapted for use with a conventional helmet 11 formed of hard material such as rigid plastic. The helmet 11 is used in conjunction with rigid shoulder pads 12 also of conventional construction and formed of rigid plastic or the like.

- A strap loop 13 is secured to the helmet 11 by a round rivet 14 as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. The strap loop 13 has a ring 15 secured therein for swiveling movement about a generally horizontal axis. A second strap loop 16 is secured to the helmet 11 by a round rivet 17 in the same manner as the strap loop 13. A ring 18 is mounted in the strap loop 16 and is adapted to be swiveled about a generally horizontal axis.

A strap loop 19 is secured to one side of the shoulder pads 12 by a round rivet 20 and has a ring 21 mounted therein for swivel action about a generally horizontal axis. A strap loop 22 is secured to the opposite side of the shoulder pads 12 by a round rivet 23 and has a ring 24 secured therein for swiveling movement about a generally horizontal axis.

A snap hook 25 is snapped onto the ring 15 and has a ring 26 secured to the opposite end thereof by a swivel pin 27. A snap hook 28 is snapped to the ring 18 and has a ring 29 secured to the opposite end thereof by a swivel pin 30.

A wire connector 31 extends through the ring 21 and the ring 26 and has its opposite ends twisted or tied to maintain the desired distance between the ring 21 and the ring 26. A wire 32 extends through the ring 24 and the ring 29 and has its free ends tied or twisted to maintain the proper length between the ring 24 and the ring 29. I

In the use and operation of the invention the football helmet 11 and the shoulder pads 12 are donned in the usual manner following which the snap rings 25, 28 are snapped into the rings 15, 18 and the wires 31, 32 are connected respectively between the rings 21, 26 and the rings 24, 29 to establish a length such that the head of the football player can not be bent forward during blocking and tackling. Once the proper length of the wire connectors 31, 32 is established the snap hooks 25, 28 are disconnected from the rings 15, 18 when putting on and taking off the football uniform ln training football players it IS extremely difficult to tram them to keep the head erect against the natural tendency to bend the head forward when blocking and tackling. With the harness of the instant invention the players head is restrained during training sessions and thus he learns to keep his head vention it shouldbe understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A football training harness comprising a helmet, a pair of rings secured in spaced apart relation to the rear of said helmet, shoulder pads, a pair or rings secured in spaced apart relation to the rear of said shoulder pads, a pair of swivel snap hooks extending between the rings on said shoulder pads and the rings on said helmet, and means adjustably connecting said pair of swivel snap hooks to the rings on said shoulder pads, said snap hooks being snapped onto the rings on said helmet to detachably connect said helmet to said shoulder pads to restrain said helmet from bending forward with respect to said shoulder pads.

# i i i t 

1. A football training harness comprising a helmet, a pair of rings secured in spaced apart relation to the rear of said helmet, shoulder pads, a pair or rings secured in spaced apart relation to the rear of said shoulder pads, a pair of swivel snap hooks extending between the rings on said shoulder pads and the rings on said helmet, and means adjustably connecting said pair of swivel snap hooks to the rings on said shoulder pads, said snap hooks being snapped onto the rings on said helmet to detachably connect said helmet to said shoulder pads to restrain said helmet from bending forward with respect to said shoulder pads. 